


Warm Milk & Honey

by extrastellar



Series: SuperBatFam [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Bat Family, Bruce Wayne is a Good Grandparent, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Jason Todd, Sickfic, Superfamily (DCU), don't fight me on this, jayroy are worried parents, superbatfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-19 09:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17598995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extrastellar/pseuds/extrastellar
Summary: Bruce was getting ready for bed after patrol, when Jason and Roy showed up on the mansion's doorstep, sleepless and exhausted, with their feverish son in tow.





	Warm Milk & Honey

**Author's Note:**

> This is fluff. Bruce being a good dad. Jason being a good dad. Bruce being a good grandpa. 'Nuff said.

When Bruce came home from patrol, Clark was in their bed, furiously scribbling on his notepad.

"Still awake?", he asked when he entered the master bedroom, only dressed in the boxers and the Tanktop he wore under the batsuit.

Clark hummed. "I finally got some inspiration for this story Perry set me on. Can't waste that."

Bruce gave a small smile. "I see. Are the kids asleep?"

"Tim, Cass and Conner were still holed up in Tim's room studying last time I checked", Clark said and looked up from his notepad, eyes glowing white for a moment. "Yeah, still studying. Damian, Bran and Duke are sleeping, so are Harper and Cullen. Laney is still up, but that's not really surprising. He's playing some video game with Luke and Steph downstairs."

"Where's Jon and Chris?"

"With Lois tonight." Clark put the notepad aside and stretched out. "Oh, Jason called."

Bruce put the clean pyjamas he had picked out back down. Now, that was highly unusual. His second-oldest rarely called - when Jason needed something, he usually showed up on the doorstep without prior announcement or just shot a quick text. "Really?"

"Asked if Dick, Chris or Alfred were here", Clark said. "I think Chris helped him out."

"What was it about?"

"Bruce, I don't listen in on our kids' phonecalls."

"Hmph."

Bruce changed into fresh boxers and soft flannel pants, foregoing a shirt when the intercom beeped, signaling someone about to enter the mansion. He tapped on the screen and did a double-take when he saw Jason and Roy at their front door, Toby hoisted up against Jason's chest.

The entry module blinked green and Jason stepped back from the retina scanner. "Jason Todd", he said for voice recognition. 

" _Confirmed_ ", the module creaked. " _Welcome_."

The doors opened and Bruce moved to shrug on a robe.

"Jason?", Clark asked.

"Yeah", Bruce said. "With Roy and Toby. I will check on them."

"Need me to come?"

Bruce shook his head. "You don't have to. Finish your story."

He left the bedroom and walked down the hallway, passing Dick's empty room (his oldest now mainly lived in Blüdhaven with his husband and their new baby), Jason's empty room and Tim's room where he could hear hushed voices bickering.

"Jason?", he asked and walked down the massive wooden stairs into the main hall.

"Hey", Jason said and adjusted Toby on his hip. "Is Alfred up?"

"He just went to sleep", Bruce said and scanned over his second oldest and his husband and son. Both Jason and Roy were wearing sweatpants and faded t-shirts, sleepwear, and Toby was in his dinosaur pyjamas, wearing his sneakers and a parka. In June. "Is everything alright?"

"Toby's sick", Roy said. He looked beyond tired, carrying a child's backpack that was probably stuffed with clothes and plushies. "He won't eat, he won't drink, let alone take his meds."

Bruce frowned. "Have you been to a doctor?"

"Yeah, she just said it's the summer flu", Jason muttered and moved to brush his son's bangs from his forehead. "He's vaccinated against everything bad."

"We called Chris because he's such a mom friend", Roy said. "But Toby won't take anything he recommended."

Bruce frowned. "I'll take him upstairs."

Jason seemed to hesitate. "Should I wake Alfred?"

"He just went to bed." Bruce gently pried Toby's monkey grip of Jason off and lifted his grandson onto his own hip. "Alfred's not young anymore. Let him rest. I'll help you."

Jason seemed suspicious for a moment, but then he shrugged. "Okay."

Toby stirred in Bruce's arms and blinked up at him out of wide, feverishly gleaming brown eyes.

"Gwandpa Bwuce?", he mumbled, slurring his R's.

"Hello, Toby", Bruce said and brought his hand up to the five year old's forehead. He was burning up. That was not good at all. "How are you feeling?"

Toby sniffled and dropped his head onto Bruce's shoulder. "Sick."

"Roy, you look like death, go sleep in one of the guest rooms", Bruce told his son-in-law. And Roy did look like a zombie. He didn't even complain about the order, just shuffled upstairs. "Where's Lian?"

"With Artemis and Zatanna. We didn't want her catching Toby's flu. Roy didn't sleep last two nights", Jason said. "Sat on Toby's bed or ran from pharmacy to pharmacy."

"Quite the doting father", Bruce said. "I'll take Toby into your room. Heat up some milk, add honey. Let's try the medicine then."

Jason seemed like he wanted to argue, but eventually just slumped and made his way into the kitchen.

Bruce shifted Toby's weight around and went back upstairs, opening the door to Jason's room. The decor was not really suited for a child of Toby's age, but Alfred made sure to keep the room tidy and the sheets fresh, so it would do.

"Bruce?"

He glanced up to see Clark standing in the doorframe, his face etched with worry.

"What's going on?"

"Toby's down with the flu and Jason and Roy don't know what to do anymore", Bruce said and carefully peeled the parka and the shoes off his grandson. Toby coughed and whined. "Could you make some cold leg compresses?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, of course." He vanished into the ensuite and came out moments later with two cold wet towels. Bruce hadn't heard any water running.

"I may have helped with the chill", Clark said sheepishly when Bruce arched an eyebrow.

Bruce shook his head with a fond smile and moved up Toby's pyjama pant legs to wrap the cold towels around his calves.

Toby yelped and tried to pull away. "Ow! Cold!"

"I know, I know", Clark hurried to soothe and pushed Toby's hair out of his face. "It's to get your fever down. See, the flu likes it warm. And we can scare it away with the cold."

Bruce frowned. "That's not—"

Clark gave him a look that shut him up. Fine. He wouldn't disrupt Toby's childish understanding of the flu.

Toby stared at Clark wide-eyed. "Really, Gramps?"

He nodded solemnly. "Really."

"Got the milk", Jason's voice sounded from the door and he padded into the room with a steaming mug in his hands. "Hi, Clark."

"Daddy", Toby whined and Jason climbed into his bed next to his son, carefully pulling him into a sitting position.

"I made you something warm and sweet", he said and showed Toby the mug. "It will help with your throat."

Toby coughed. "Hurts. I don't wanna."

Jason sighed. "Just a few sips, Toby. Please? For me and Pops, yeah?"

Toby shook his head and crossed his arms. "No!"

Jason shot a helpless look at Clark and Bruce.

Clark was in way over his head here. Sick children? Jon, Chris and Laney hadn't gotten sick, thanks to Kryptonian DNA, and Conner and Bran had never been children and even if they had been, their Kryptonian genes would have immunised them to all "human" illnesses.

Bruce, however, vividly remembered when the scarlet fever had gone through Gotham and Jason, Damian, Tim, Duke, Harper and Cass had caught it. Dick, Barbara and Bruce had had to pitch in to help Alfred take care of all the sick kids.

"You wanted to meet Uncle Dick's and Uncle Wally's new baby, right?", Bruce tried. "You can't meet him if you're sick."

Toby's bottom lip quivered. "But I wanna!"

"Drink your milk then."

Toby wiped his nose with his sleeve, which had Jason immediately fumbling for a tissue. "That's medcine. Not milk. And medcine is yucky."

"Sure, medicine is yucky", Jason said and blew on the steaming mug. "I promise this is milk with honey, Tobes. Give it a try?"

The child pursed his lips, but eventually leaned forward.

"Careful, it's hot", Jason murmured. "You gotta blow on it."

Toby did, even if it was more of a sputter. He sipped at the hot drink and frowned.

"It's... okay."

Jason sighed in relief. "Another sip?"

This time, Toby didn't wait, he immediately started slurping up the hot milk.

Bruce slowly rose. "I'll get some supplies."

He left the room, Clark following.

"He makes an adorable dad", Clark said with a warm smile. Bruce couldn't help a smile himself.

"Yes", he said. "He does."

He hadn't expected for Jason to have a kid of his own so soon. Sure, he had jumped in as a parental figure when Roy had learned of Lian's existence and they took her in, but the conscious decision to have a child was not something Bruce had expected of his second son so soon. Jason had not seemed like the conventional fatherly type, especially not with the the father figures he'd had in his life so far. Bruce's jaw clenched and a big hand immediately came to rest on his cheek. Inhumanly blue eyes stared at him.

"I can literally hear you putting yourself down as a father, Bruce", Clark said firmly. "And I'm not having it."

Bruce avoided his husband's gaze. "Right."

" _Bruce_." Clark knocked his forehead against Bruce's. "You are a good father. And a good grandfather."

"You're making me feel old", Bruce murmured, but sighed. "I need to get some ibuprofen from the bathroom. You need to let me go for that."

Clark stepped back and gave his husband another one of his warm smiles. "I love you."

Bruce's lips twitched up in a smile. "Me too." Then he made a shooing gesture. "Go sleep, Clark. I can handle this. You have work tomorrow."

"You know I don't exactly need sleep, right?"

"And I know that you like to do it anyway."

Clark shrugged. "True. But Bruce, _you_ need to sleep."

"I'll just go into the office late", Bruce said. "It's fine. Really. There are no pressing meetings tomorrow."

"Well, if you're absolutely sure..." Clark pressed a quick kiss to Bruce's lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Clark."

Once his husband had returned to their bedroom, Bruce made his way to the bathroom on the second floor where Alfred kept all the medical supplies that had nothing to do with the Bat's activities. There were a lot of meds for Helena that would go for Toby as well, she was only three years older than him, after all. Ibuprofen, a whole variety of flu meds, cough syrup, ...

Bruce grabbed an antifebrile that was advertised as a juice with raspberry supplements to make it easier to give it to stubborn little children and the cough syrup before heading back upstairs. He was glad Helena was with Selina this weekend, he didn't want her catching Toby's flu. The girl was a light sleeper (no wonder, given who her parents were) and she even heard it when Bruce and Clark came home from patrol, she would have been out of bed the second Jason, Roy and Toby had entered the Manor.

"Want some water? More milk?", Bruce heard Jason ask when he approached the room.

He pushed open the door to the room to see Toby clutching the empty mug. "M'fine."

Jason was brushing Toby's hair away and rubbed circles on his son's back. "You need to drink some more, kiddo. It'll help you get well faster."

Toby pouted. "Don't wanna."

And then he sneezed. Right on Jason.

Bruce's second son didn't sigh, didn't even grimace, just pulled out a tissue and held it to Toby's nose for him to blow in it.

"Into your elbow next time, Tobes", he muttered and threw the used tissue into the bin on the other side of the room.

Bruce cleared his throat. Toby glanced up at him with puffy eyes and lit up as well as he could while just looking sick. "Grandpa!"

Bruce walked over and patted his grandson's head. "I have some juice for you."

Toby frowned. "Med juice?"

"Raspberry juice", Bruce corrected. "But it will also make you feel better."

The boy pushed out his tongue as he thought, then stretched out his hand. "Okay! I'll try!"

Bruce handed him a little plastic cup filled with the pink antifebrile. "Bottoms up, young man."

Toby sniffed at the medicine, decided it smelled raspberrily enough and slurped it up.

"How was that?", Jason asked.

"Was okay", Toby concluded and put the plastic cup on the nightstand. "But it tastes weird now. Like. The rest. Can I have another milk?"

"On it." Jason started to get up, but Bruce motioned for him to get back down.

"It's alright, Jason. I'll do it. Stay with him."

Jason furrowed his brows. "You sure, B?"

"Positive."

"... alright."

Bruce left the room and went back downstairs into the main kitchen to prepare another hot milk with honey. After the night of his parents' murder, Bruce had caught a mean cold from being wet to the bones because of the rain for multiple hours. Alfred, who had been his sole pillar after that night, had devoted his entire time to caring for Bruce, making him tea and hot milk with honey, and chicken soup. Helena also had the habit of sneaking out in clothes that were way too thin for the weather outside and caught colds all the time. Both Selina and him could pass as certified child nurses by now.

Bruce sighed and took the milk off the stove to add honey to it, before heading back upstairs. The mug was steaming hot in his hands, maybe he shouldn't have let the milk cook so long.

Toby'd just have to wait or blow on it, then.

Bruce stepped through the open door. The sight that greeted him made him stop dead in his tracks and his heart warm.

Jason was spooning his sleeping son, and Roy, who had apparently wandered upstairs while Bruce was in the kitchen, curled around both of them from Toby's free side. Roy was fast asleep as well, but Jason blinked up at Bruce with sleepy blue eyes. Toby coughed in his sleep and Jason, subconsciously as it seemed, stroked his son's back.

Bruce approached the bed quietly and put the milk on Jason's nightstand without making any noise.

Jason turned his head, careful not to jostle Toby or Roy.

"Thanks, Dad", he mouthed and Bruce nodded.

"Anytime, Jason."

 

 


End file.
